Alexander and Caligula in the Jerusalem Temple: A Case of Conflated Traditions

One of the best-known stories about Alexander the Great is the episode of his meeting with the Jewish High-Priest, with or without a visit to the holy city of Jerusalem, as told already in antiquity by Josephus, in rabbinic literature (two very different stories, each with its own plotline, purpose and tradition), and the monotheistic strand of the Alexander Romance (ε, γ).¹ So far, the questions that dominated the scholarly discussion about this episode were essentially historical: Was there a meeting between Alexander and the Jewish high-priest, or wasn’t there? Did Alexander visit Jerusalem or did he ignore it? And,